v.动词
attribute, ascribe, impute, refer这四个词的共同意思是“归于…”或“归因于…”。其区别是：
1.attribute和ascribe既可用于积极意义,也可用于消极意义; 而impute则主要用于坏的方面,常表示“归罪于或嫁祸于…”。
2.refer与attribute相比词义较弱。
3.attribute强调客观性; ascribe则表示主观臆断。
attribute…to, owe…to这两短语的共同意思是“把…归因于…”。其区别是：
1.owe…to只用于主动句,且多含褒义; 而attribute…to可用于主动句,也可用于被动句,且多用于贬义。例如:
To whom do we owe the discovery of penicillin?盘尼西林的发现该归功于谁?
He attributes his success to hard work.他把自己的成功归因于努力工作。
Economists attributed the lack of progress to poor cooperation.经济学家把缺乏进步归咎于合作不好。2.owe…to的主语可以是物,也可以是人; attribute…to的主语只能是人。例如:
The bank and its customer owe a large number of obligations to one another.银行和主顾彼此都应负很多义务。
She attributes her success to hard work and a bit of luck.她认为她的成功是由于勤奋加上一点运气而得来的。attribute，ascribe这两个动词均有“把……归于”之意。
attribute指出于相信而把……归于某人或某物，含较多的客观性。
ascribe指根据推论或猜想把……归于某人或某物，含主观臆断成分较重。
quality，property，feature，characteristic，peculiarity，trait，attribute，character这些名词均有“特性、特点、品质”之意。
quality最普通用词，既可指有形或无形的特性，又可指个性或共性的特征。
property多指同类事物所共有的特性，一般不用于指人。
feature指事物突出引人注目的特点。多用来说明人的容貌特征或地理特征。
characteristic指某人或某物天生有别于他人或他物的内部特质或外表特征。
peculiarity指人或事物独具的或奇怪的特点，常带感情色彩。
trait多指人的性格、心情的特征，尤指先天秉赋的持久的行为模式或性格特征。
attribute通常指人主观赋予某事物的属性，可指典型事物。
character多指一类人或事物所具有的独特的典型的特征。
symbol，badge，sign，signal，mark，token，attribute，emblem这些名词均含“标志、象征、符号”之意。
symbol指作象征或表达某种深邃意蕴的特殊事物。
badge一般指金属证章或写有姓名的带状标志物。
sign普通用词，指人们公认事物的记号，也可指某种情况的征兆。
signal指为某一目的而有意发出的信号。
mark普通用词，含义广泛。既可指方便于辨认而有意做的标记，又可指自然形成的标记或有别于他事物的特征。
token语气庄重，指礼品、纪念物等作为表示友谊、爱情等的象征或标志。
attribute指人或物及其地位、属性的象征。
emblem指选定象征一个国家、民族或家庭等的图案或实物。
14世纪晚期进入英语，直接源自拉丁语的attributus：ad 去） +tribuere (给，赐予），意为分发，加入。
用作动词 (v.
～+介词attribute to把…归因于attribute one's success to hard work把成功归因于辛勤的工作attribute one's failure to poor judgment把失败归咎于判断错误attribute the success to sb把成功归功于某人用作名词 n.形容词+～best attribute好品性～+介词an attribute of a fighter战士的象征an attribute of a gentleman绅士的品性an attribute of human beings人类的一种特征an attribute of kingship王位的象征
用作动词v.
attribute to v.+prep.
认为某事〔物〕属于某人〔物〕believe sth to belong to sb/sth
attribute sth to sb/sth/v-ingI attribute our success to him.我把我们的成功归功于他。
I never attribute mean motives to anyone.我从不把卑劣的动机加在任何人身上。
They attributed the blame for the reverses to their superiors.他们认为挫折的责任在于他们的上级。
He attributed his failure to poor judgment.他把失败归因于判断错误。
She attributes her great age to a carefully planned diet.她把她的长寿归功于精心安排的饮食。
She attributed her illness to the cold weather.她把自己的病归因于寒冷的天气。
The doctors have attributed the cause of the illness to an unknown virus.医生们把这种疾病的起因归于一种未知的病毒。
She attributes her success to hard work and a little luck.她认为她的成功来自勤劳和一点点运气。
Her teachers attributed her learning difficulties to emotional problems.她的老师们把她的学习困难归因于感情问题。
The President attributed the worsening situation to increased guerrilla activity.总统把日益恶化的情势归因于游击队活动增加。
Jim wrongly attributed his failure to bad luck.吉姆错误地把自己的失败归咎于运气不佳。
He attributed it,I believe,to a political cause.我相信，他把这件事的动机归因于政治。
To what do you attribute this delay?你说这次延误的原因是什么？He partly attributes his good health to careful living.他把健康部分归因于生活起居处处留心。
We attribute our success to being in the right place at the right time.我们把成功归于天时地利。
He attributes his success to working hard.他认为他的成功是艰苦工作的结果。
Someone knew enough felt that his crime would be attributed to her.有个人充分了解情况，认为他犯下的罪一定与她有关。
The car accident was attributed to faulty brakes.这次车祸被认为是刹车失灵造成的。
This incident cannot be attributed merely to carelessness.这个事故的发生不能单纯归因于疏忽。
Lung cancer has been partly attributed to smoking.人们认为肺癌部分是由于吸烟引起的。attribute sth to sbMost experts have attributed the drawing to Michelangelo.大多数专家认为这幅画出自米凯朗琪罗之手。
The remark was later attributed to Karl himself.这话后来被认为是卡尔本人说的。
The unsigned painting was wrongly attributed to Raphael.这幅未署名的画被误认为是拉斐尔的作品。
Marcello's work was at first attributed to his brother Benedetto.马尔赛洛的作品起初被认为是他的兄弟本内代托所作。
This comedy has been traditionally attributed to Mark Twain.这出喜剧据传为马克·吐温所作。
This play is usually attributed to Shakespeare.人们通常认为这出戏剧是莎士比亚所写。
This song is usually attributed to Schubert.这首歌曲通常被认为是舒伯特的作品。attribute sth to sb/sthHe attributes wisdom to his teacher.他认为他的老师有智慧。
Some scientists attribute intelligence to ants.有些科学家认为蚂蚁有智力。
He attributed this pottery to the Bronze Age.他认为这种陶器是青铜时代的遗物。用作名词n.be an attribute of是…的本性〔象征〕a quality forming part of the nature of a person or thing
近义词 quality
v.ascriben. characteristic
用作名词n.One of the main attributes of this plastic is its ability to bend without breaking.这种塑料的主要特性之一是其可弯曲而不会断裂。
Peter had all the attributes of a first-class athlete.彼得拥有一流运动员应具备的所有特质。
They appeared to possess all the attributes of a ruling class.他们似乎具有统治阶级的一切特征。
Any incomes policy must embody the attributes of fairness and flexibility.任何收入政策都应该具有公平与灵活性之特征。
Organizing ability is an essential attribute for a good manager.组织能力是优秀管理者的基本品质。
Kindness is one of his best attributes.仁慈是他的好品性之一。
Intelligence is a uniquely human attribute.智慧是人类特有的一种能力属性。
What are the main attributes of the Prime Minister?首相的主要品质是什么？
A scepter is one of the attributes of a king.权杖是帝王的象征之一。
The eagle was the attribute of Jupiter.鹰是丘比特的象征。
It is surprising how soon historical personages became invested with romantic attributes.令人惊奇的是历史人物很快就带有传奇的色彩。≪v.动词
attribute用作动词的基本意思是“归因于”,指“把某事归因于某人〔某事〕”“认为某作品出自某人之手”“认为某事〔物〕属于某人〔物〕”,常用于attribute sth to sb/sth 结构。
n.名词
attribute用作名词时的基本意思是“特性,属性”,指某人或某事所特有的性质或属性。常与介词of连用,表示“是…的本性〔象征〕”。
attribute作名词修饰人的时侯，所指的特征往往是说人的品质或天赋，并非哪一种功能或能力，且要注意attribute不表示一个过程，不应把某个过程看成是特征的组合；
作动词用时，要注意主语和宾语的位置不能倒置。
They attribute their success to their teacher's encouragement.句中是把成功归于老师，不可说把老师归于成功。
动词98%,名词2%
Many people's success can beattributedto hard work and a bit of luck.很多人的成功都可以归于勤奋加上一点儿运气。用作名词Public perception can also create a legal right for an attribute of a product.公众的认知也能为产品的某个属性创造法律权利。
The attribute that indicates that the same copy of a routine cannot be used by another task.一种属性，表示某一例行程序的同一副本不能被另一个任务使用。
Grounding is a necessary attribute to ascension.根植是提升的必要特征。